System Identification and Digital Controller Design Applied to a Turbocharged Marine Diesel Engine

The dynamic characteristic of turbocharged diesel engines can vary greatly with load and speed. Existing Royal Naval prime movers are fitted with hydraulic speed governors which take little account of these varying characteristics. In this paper, parameter estimation techniques are applied to response data obtained from PRBS tests on a turbocharged marine diesel engine. The variation in model coefficients with speed and load is highlighted and provides the necessary justification for a study in digital controller design. The possible implementation of a simple microcomputer-based controller is outlined and suggestions are made where the work might be extended to include the wider issue of control of ship-borne diesel-generator sets in the context of a multivariable control strategy.